


Coffee and Cinnamon

by MidnightMew



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Artist Phil Lester, First Meetings, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pianist Dan Howell, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 23:35:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13692195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightMew/pseuds/MidnightMew
Summary: A café meet-cute'The waiter set down the coffee on the table in front of him- the large mug giving off a lovely scent, unlike the shitty coffee he had to put up with at work- before taking another mug over to a man who was sitting a few seats away from Dan.  The man looked deep in thought, he didn’t even seem to notice when the mug was placed down in front of him, as he was drawing something in a sketchbook, various art supplies were spread out all over the table. Dan wondered if he’d been here all day, he seemed to have made himself a home over at that table, pencils everywhere, sheets of paper with discarded drawings, and books of anatomy all scattered over the tiny space, looking as though something might fall off at any moment. He seemed to be drawing the café, as he kept glancing up from his sketchbook before scribbling down a few more details of some table or person. Dan understood, if he had even an ounce of artistic talent he would definitely be drawing this café, sometimes he thought it looked like something out of a movie, too perfect and quaint to exist in reality.'





	Coffee and Cinnamon

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little bit of fluff as I've not written much lately

It was late on a Sunday afternoon when Dan walked into the coffee shop, the little bell over the door ringing as he opened it. He had spent all morning playing piano for a wedding, and after several solid hours of providing the background music, that hardly anyone even noticed him playing, his fingers were slightly sore, and he was in dire need of some caffeine.

This coffee shop had always been his favourite of the collection of them scattered around the area. It was about as eclectic as a place could get, mismatched chairs, art prints on the walls, and the rather undeniable hipster vibe the place gave off. He was surprised it was never busier when he came in, it was a lovely place after all, though there was a Starbucks down the street which he supposed probably wasn’t great for business. 

He made his order- black coffee, he didn’t care for sugary concoctions which were only made up of a few small spoons of actual coffee- and then sat down on one of the free sofas, taking out his laptop to catch up on some work emails. Playing the piano at events, while enjoyable, was nowhere near profitable enough to support him financially, so he worked an office job, nine to five, Monday to Friday. Sure, it was exhausting to do his events at the weekend on top of that, but it was what he wanted to be doing, and he couldn’t help but hope that if he did enough events and gained himself enough of a reputation to secure work permanently, then maybe one day, just maybe he might be able to quit his job for good.

The waiter set down the coffee on the table in front of him- the large mug giving off a lovely scent, unlike the shitty coffee he had to put up with at work- before taking another mug over to a man who was sitting a few seats away from Dan.  The man looked deep in thought, he didn’t even seem to notice when the mug was placed down in front of him, as he was drawing something in a sketchbook, various art supplies were spread out all over the table. Dan wondered if he’d been here all day, he seemed to have made himself a home over at that table, pencils everywhere, sheets of paper with discarded drawings, and books of anatomy all scattered over the tiny space, looking as though something might fall off at any moment. He seemed to be drawing the café, as he kept glancing up from his sketchbook before scribbling down a few more details of some table or person. Dan understood, if he had even an ounce of artistic talent he would definitely be drawing this café, sometimes he thought it looked like something out of a movie, too perfect and quaint to exist in reality. 

Realising he had been staring a little- though the other man was too absorbed in his drawing to notice- he decided to get back to his emails. If he managed to get through the bulk of them now, then he wouldn’t have to do as much work the next day, when he would inevitably be exhausted. Monday mornings after a weekend with two events were always exhausting, so it would be good to have a lighter workload. 

He sat there, slightly hunched over his computer, and as he sent yet another email, scheduling a date in his calendar, he stretched, realising how badly he’d made his back ache. Glancing at the time at the top of his computer screen he realised just how late it was, he had been almost mindlessly typing out replies and ordering refills and had hardly noticed how quiet the café had grown. He had been there for several hours now and had hardly made a dent in the massive amount of work he had to get through. 

He sighed a little as he noticed that, deciding to order one last drink- a hot chocolate this time, as it was getting late, and he wanted to be able to sleep that night- before he called it a day, and resigned himself to working just as hard as ever the next day. Looking around the café, blinking a little as he readjusted his eyes after staring at a computer screen for several hours, he noticed that the artist guy was still there, and he kept looking up at him before looking back down to his sketchbook. He seemed to be drawing Dan, who supposed one could only draw tables and chairs for so long before you got a little bored. He waited until the man looked up again before he met his eyes, giving him a small smile.

‘It’s okay if I draw you right?’ he asked, his hand not stopping as he continued to sketch. ‘It’s just figure drawing practice, won’t go anywhere except for my sketchbook.’

‘Yeah, that’s fine,’ Dan confirmed, ‘Can I see it when you’ve finished though?’

‘Of course,’ the other man said, with a smile, as he looked back up at Dan again, taking in more details as he drew.

Dan drank his hot chocolate, slightly self-consciously now he was aware of being observed, as though he could almost feel the man’s eyes upon him as he sat there, responding to more pointless emails. He wished he didn’t have to do this job, it took so much time, and he didn’t even get paid that well for it. But it was near impossible to make anywhere near enough money to survive as a musician, unless you were incredibly talented, which, although he was an amazing pianist, was not quite good enough in that competitive field. 

He wondered if the man who was drawing him was an artist full time, or if it was just a hobby like his piano. Art, much like music in that regard, seemed to be another field it was almost impossible to make a career out of unless one was incredibly talented. 

He was pulled from his train of thought as he was tapped on the shoulder. He jumped a little, hot chocolate splashing from his mug, but not quite enough to go everywhere, and he turned to see the artist standing there. The man was almost as tall as he was, which was quite an achievement, given that Dan always seemed to be that one person who stuck out in crowds, the one who walked around seeing the top of people’s heads. He was grinning, Dan was struck by the thought that he had a lovely smile, and holding out his sketchbook. 

‘I’ve finished, it was just a quick half-hour sketch, nothing particularly special, but you said you wanted to take a look so…’ he trailed off, handing the book to Dan.

Dan took the book from him, and stopped, jaw dropping open, when he saw the sketch. Nothing special? This was one of the best drawings he had ever seen. It looked just like him, hunched over his laptop, the frames on the wall and the plants and tables surrounding him sketched in lighter in the background. 

‘This is,’ he stopped, trying to think of words accurate to even describe it, ‘wow,’ he settled on, ‘just wow.’ 

‘It’s not much,’ said the artist, bashful grin still on his face, ‘I’m glad you like it though.’

‘Like it?’ Dan asked incredulously, ‘Like it? I love it. Can I buy it from you?’

‘Well it’s just a sketch, it wouldn’t feel right to do that. But if you wanted we could meet up for coffee at some point, I’d love to sketch you again, this one turned out pretty good and I’d like to do some for figure practice.’

‘Yes, yes,’ Dan enthused, he knew it was slightly odd, he had only just met the man after all, but he wanted to see him again, he had to see more of his work. Holding out his hand for a handshake he said, ‘My name’s Dan by the way, before I go giving you my number.’

‘Hi Dan,’ the artist said with yet another smile. He didn’t seem to stop smiling, and Dan didn’t care, for it was the nicest smile he’d ever seen, made of sunshine, and so utterly genuine. ‘I’m Phil.’

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated, Mew x


End file.
